You’ve heard “it’s all in how you raise them” as a defense for a breed with a bad reputation. But is the person who’s saying that right or wrong? Read here to find out if Nature or Nurture (also known as genetics vs. training) is more important.

We often hear about dogs who are trying to be dominant over their humans. Is that true? Do dogs want to rule the world one human at a time? No, of course not. So, what’s really going on there? This article tells you how the myth started and what’s really going on.

Is dog training more like car repairs or like dentistry? You might or might not be interested in handling minor car repairs yourself. Or maybe you prefer to keep your hands clean and let professionals change the oil quickly with less risk that the oil will leak out as you drive down the road. But please don’t even consider drilling your own teeth to fix a cavity - go to a dentist. This short article helps you decide which types of dog training you can resolve on your own and when you should seek out professional help.

Sometimes it’s really easy to tell if a dog is happy. And a truly terrified dog is probably pretty obvious to most people. But what does it mean when a dog yawns? Or freezes? Or looks away from you? How can you tell appropriate play from inappropriate? Is it okay for dogs to growl and bite while playing? Is growling at humans okay? Look inside for the answers.

Many trainers, including many in my area, do use pain, fear, and intimidation to train.

I love dogs. I have a list of breeds I hope to have in the future. I joke about getting five dogs all at once. I even tease people about their dog being on my “long list of dogs I’d steal if given the chance.” But it’s important to face the facts - dogs aren’t always easy and the “downsides” should be considered before bringing one into our house. Here’s a list of the reasons you might want to delay getting a dog. Or at least to get prepared to face.

This is one of those geeky blog posts I warned you about previously. I won’t have many of them, but this one is important to me. We dog trainers have this cool tool called the Humane Hierarchy. The problem is that some people use it to justify some less-than-humane treatment of dogs. I’d like to see the Humane Hierarchy changed so it’s harder to justify that or to be confused by it.